Pantnagar Journal of Research

Abstract

Paddy is one of the important grains and staple food in Kerala. The diverse agro-climatic conditions prevailing in the state support wetland paddy cultivation. Significant societal developments put pressure on the land and gradually paved the way for the shifts in land use, resulting in a decline in paddy area. The present study was carried out to investigate the growth performance and instability in area, production and productivity of paddy across districts in Kerala using the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and Instability Index based on secondary time series data collected from the official website of the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Kerala from 1985-86 to 2022-23. Bai-Perron test identified a structural break in area and production during 2007-08 and productivity during 2008-09, which could be attributed to the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008. The compound annual growth rate for area and production was negative, but the productivity was positive. During the overall study period, the highest instability index was reported in the paddy area compared to production and productivity. Rapid population growth, expansion of habitation on valuable land, industrialisation, urbanisation, conversion of paddy fields for non-agricultural uses, and increasing factor costs paved the way for diminishing paddy lands. It is the need of the hour to implement appropriate policy measures to reduce the exacerbating effects of these factors and revive paddy production in the state